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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26201860">You And I Who Dance So Well Together (We Are From Different Worlds)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetarypoe/pseuds/planetarypoe'>planetarypoe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Adventure Zone (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Ice Skating, Trichotillomania</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:29:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26201860</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetarypoe/pseuds/planetarypoe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wait, hang on a second.”</p>
<p>“What’s up?”</p>
<p>“I’ve never been ice skating before. I don’t know how to do it.”</p>
<p>“Oh!” Dani said. “Well, I mean we don’t have to, I just thought it would be cool…”</p>
<p>Aubrey swept in and gave Dani another kiss on the cheek. The part of her face that was visible beneath scarves and hats flushed pink, and Aubrey grinned.</p>
<p>“No, this is such a good idea,” she said. “I’m just warning you now, I miiiight have to hold your hand a lot. You know, for balance and stuff.”</p>
<p>“How will I cope?” said Dani, pushing open the heavy swinging door of the ice rink.</p>
<p>“Don’t pretend this wasn’t your plan the whole time.”</p>
<p>“My devious ploy has been discovered,” Dani said dryly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dani takes Aubrey on an ice skating date. Aubrey doesn't know how to skate. Epic hand holding ensues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dani/Aubrey Little</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You And I Who Dance So Well Together (We Are From Different Worlds)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title is from Lady Maisery, Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith’s <a href="https://ladymaisery.bandcamp.com/track/the-bear-song">The Bear Song</a>. I needed a wintery album to get in the mood to write this one, so of course I went back to Awake Arise, which just makes me feel like I’m huddled up in Amnesty Lodge by the blazing fire with a cup of mulled cider, even though I wrote this in July and August.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aubrey should have guessed that something was up when Dani swung around her doorframe, hanging her full weight off it and swaying, a playful grin on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wanna get out of here?” she’d asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes please,” Aubrey had replied instantly, leaping from the bed and abandoning all attempts to read the book she was using as an excuse to put off practicing her magic. Dani laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to need to put on some more clothes, then,” she said. She was bundled up herself in her usual fashion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey looked down at herself and back to Dani. “You don’t like my outfit?” she said, mock affronted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look awesome, but it’s cold out, babe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, it’s so </span>
  <em>
    <span>unfair</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Aubrey sighed, but she started grabbing warm clothes from where they were strewn around the room. It might have looked messy, but she swore it was organised. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew where everything was, anyway, and that’s what mattered. As she searched, she ranted to Dani. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The world deserves to see this look and I, for one, would love to deliver. And yet everyone suffers because the weather decided to be like, ten degrees. It just really cramps my style, you know? I wish I could make it always be the right temperature, then I could wear the best outfits all the time.” She switched her inside gloves for warm winter ones. “Or like, what if </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> was always a good temperature, but the rest of the world was just normal, so I’d be wearing like my hot shorts and crop tops and stuff and it’s snowing and everyone’s like ‘woah, who’s that astounding chick running around in this weather looking incredible and not cold at all, she’s so hardcore.’” Aubrey paused as she wound a scarf around her neck. “Wait, I have fire magic! I could totally do that, Dani!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani bit her lip and grinned. “Okay hot stuff, we can figure that out later. Right now we have places to be,” and she held out her hand. Aubrey took it, twining her fingers with Dani’s, and her girlfriend led her out through the main lounge in the lodge. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they reached the door, Dani plucked at the shoulder of the coat Aubrey was wearing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This looks familiar,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey hunched down into the big, comfy, fleece-lined jacket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said put on clothes, you never specified whose,” she replied. “Besides, you have like a gazillion jackets, you can’t spare your poor freezing girlfriend one? Just one little one?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani huffed. “I guess that’s what I get for leaving my stuff in your room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t seem to remember you complaining when I took it off you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The second thing that should have made her suspicious was when Dani pulled her past the cars towards town, rather than around the back of the lodge and into the trees like usual. When they weren’t holed up in the warmth of the lodge, the pair of them spent a lot of time out in the woods. Dani would sketch, or ramble enthusiastically about a bird or a vine; her knowledge of the forest bubbled out of her like a mountain spring. Aubrey could listen to her talk for hours. If it wasn’t too dry, Aubrey would practice her magic, working on her precision or power and </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>not showing off, and if she did it </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> because Dani did the cutest whoops when she did something cool.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whenever they did head into Kepler, it was usually in the truck to get groceries for Barclay or sell one of Mama’s pieces. But this time, Dani led Aubrey towards the Topside funicular station. Aubrey didn’t take the funicular all that often, and she didn’t think she’d ever gone on it with Dani, which meant it was still kind of exciting, watching the carriage trundle up the hill towards them and squeezing each other’s hands, giggling into each others cheeks as they huddled close together against the chill of the open platform.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the way down, Aubrey pressed her face against the glass and watched Kepler spread out below the grey sky, growing slowly larger and larger. It was funny, she really hadn’t been here for that long, but as she picked out the familiar buildings from this strange angle, she realised how long it had been since she’d spent this much time in one place. Perhaps this ache in her chest - perhaps that was what home felt like. When she glanced across to Dani, she was staring back at her with an expression Aubrey couldn’t name, and reached out to cup Aubrey’s cheek. Aubrey wriggled around to sit in her seat properly, but not before pressing a kiss to Dani’s cheek, the only part of her not bundled up under fifty layers of clothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Aubrey didn’t realise what Dani was planning until after they’d reached the bottom, and then strolled most of the way through Riverside. Dani paused, and then tugged her forward more insistently with gleaming eyes, and Aubrey caught sight of the building they were heading for</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Oh yes,” she breathed as they approached the Kepler Ice Rink. And then she stopped, Dani pulled up short ahead of her by their linked hands. “Wait, hang on a second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve never been ice skating before. I don’t know how to do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” Dani said. “Well, I mean we don’t have to, I just thought it would be cool…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey swept in and gave Dani another kiss on the cheek. The part of her face that was visible beneath scarves and hats flushed pink, and Aubrey grinned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, this is such a good idea,” she said. “I’m just warning you now, I miiiight have to hold your hand a lot. You know, for balance and stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How will I cope?” said Dani, pushing open the heavy swinging door of the ice rink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t pretend this wasn’t your plan the whole time.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“My devious ploy has been discovered,” Dani said dryly. She went to handle the tickets, and Aubrey slipped up to the window over the rink, curious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dozens of skaters whipped around the rink, a group of teenagers laughing and calling out to each other and screeching to sudden stops, sending up sprays of ice. A girl in a short skirt leapt and spun off the ice, landing perfectly. But Aubrey was slightly reassured by the sight of a few people who were clearly less experienced - a gaggle of kids shrieking and clinging to the side of the rink, a parent taking shaky lessons from their patient son. Aubrey hoped she wouldn’t be too awkward out there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani came up beside her and held out a plastic chip. “Token for your skates,” she said. Aubrey took it and turned it in her hands, making it disappear between her fingers, a trick she’d learned so long ago it was like second nature now. It had been hard when she’d first tried it, though, she remembered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thanks for the metaphor, brain,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, and smiled to herself before turning to Dani.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shall we?” she said, and pushed open the door beside the window. In the main room, the air smelt cold and strangely plasticky, and the sound of blades sweeping against the ice was slightly jarring. Dani paused for a moment as they entered, and took a deep breath before leading Aubrey to the hire skate desk. Aubrey looked her girlfriend over, considering. Dani was not a recluse in any sense of the word, but she didn’t come to town a lot. There was an ease to the way she moved, though, that suggested she was comfortable here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, you come here often?” Aubrey asked, leaning on the desk and wiggling her eyebrows while the woman behind it swapped their boots for ice skates.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani smirked, and hauled the skates towards her. “I guess so. A few times a year, maybe?” She planted herself on a bench with a huff and squinted at the ceiling, remembering. “The first time Mama dropped us off here, it was a few months after Jake came over, so maybe a year after I did, and we were both going pretty crazy up at the lodge. She thought this would be a good way to burn off some steam. Or cool us down, I guess? Jake liked it, but he got more into boarding. I kept coming though. It’s pretty calming.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey nodded. She’d seen Dani occasionally get overwhelmed with memories or worry or something she couldn’t put a name to. Heading into the woods usually helped her then, but Aubrey could see that this was another way of dealing with those times.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The skates were surprisingly bulky. Ice skating always looked so graceful and delicate, she wasn’t expecting them to be this heavy and rigid. They were almost as bad as the ski boots, and at the memory of</span>
  <em>
    <span> that</span>
  </em>
  <span> disaster Aubrey’s hands stilled on the clasps. She took a slow breath, and then another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dani,” she whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey swallowed as she considered how to put it. “Not that I’m not totally down for some epic hand-holding, but what if I panic?” Her eyes darted around the rink, teeming with ordinary people who might as well live in a completely different world to her. “I have fire magic that is, let’s be generous, a little unpredictable, and this is a large block of </span>
  <em>
    <span>ice</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This could go very wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani finished clipping her own boots and tucked her hair behind her ear, standing to face Aubrey where she was sitting on the bench and reaching both her gloved hands down. Aubrey took them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look,” said Dani. “I know the skiing... didn’t go great. But there’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re gonna go out there, it’s gonna be cute as hell, and if you fall over I promise that it won’t hurt and also, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>laugh at you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey huffed a laugh, and Dani tugged on her hands to pull her to her feet. “More importantly though,” she said, and she was smiling but her eyes looked serious, “I will pick you back up again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, Aubrey tried to pretend that those words didn’t impact her as much as they did. But it was Dani, and there was no point pretending with her; there had been too many nights when the two of them had lain in the dark and whispered the fears and hopes keeping them awake. Dani knew what it meant to be able to trust someone, that Aubrey could count on her. She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, gathering herself, then opened her eyes again. Dani was still there, warm and solid, her brown eyes shining back at Aubrey. She nodded, and the two of them moved towards the gate to the ice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Aubrey stepped out onto its surface, she kind of expected her legs to skitter out from under her straight away, that she would stumble and stagger just like Bambi. Instead, the sharp blades held her pretty firmly in place. Dani held out her hand, and Aubrey grasped it gratefully, still holding firmly to the wall with the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, look at that,” she said, wobbling slightly. “I’m a natural.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani grinned wide. “What a surprise. How ‘bout we try some movement? Just don’t look at your feet. Keep your eyes up or you’re more likely to fall over, it fucks with your balance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey took a breath and fixed her gaze on the scoreboard on the far wall. Still clutching the side of the rink with one arm and Dani’s hand with the other, she slowly, carefully, slid one foot forwards. She didn’t fall over. She followed with the other foot and found, to her surprise, that the motion came a lot more fluidly to her than the skiing had - maybe because the skates didn’t essentially make her feet six feet long, and extremely hard to move. She looked over to Dani, her face shining.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hell yeah!” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got this!” Dani said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pair of them kept going, slowly at first, but as they continued Aubrey’s confidence grew. Her legs knew what to do. By the time they reached the first corner, she felt strong enough to take her hand off the side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, bold moves from Little here,” said Dani.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What can I say, I have a - woah.” She steadied herself on Dani. “I have an excellent teacher.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm, I have many skills,” agreed Dani, and she pulled them a little further into the centre of the rink, away from the safety of the wall. Aubrey was okay with that. She was getting the hang of this, really. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>this. Look, she was even lifting her feet off the ice between steps!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they finished their first lap of the rink, Dani swivelled around in front of her in a single smooth motion, one eyebrow raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready to let go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Actually, Aubrey felt like maybe she was. But…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tugged slightly on Dani’s hands, and her girlfriend slid towards her, the ice providing no resistance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not so sure, what will I do without you to support me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani laughed and tossed her hair, and Aubrey caught the scent of her herby shampoo. “Be fucking kickass, as usual?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey pulled her even closer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, maybe. That’s definitely a possibility, I am very cool. But if you let go of me and I fall it’ll all be your fault. Think about it, my death will be on your hands-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani shut her up with a kiss. Her lips were warm after the cool air of the rink and Aubrey couldn’t help but lean in, try and drink Dani up. Dani brought their joined hands up between their chests and pressed in closer. The sound of blades scraping against the ice and people chattering faded away, and the world was just the two of them, together, standing firm against the treacherous cold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then Dani </span>
  <em>
    <span>let go</span>
  </em>
  <span> and by the time Aubrey opened her eyes, she was a few feet away, cheeks flushed and hopelessly out of reach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck,” said Aubrey. “Dani, I can’t believe you’d abandon me like that! After kissing me! This is a most cutting betrayal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani tilted her head to one side, smirking, and then had the audacity to reach out a hand to Aubrey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come get me back,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey shook her head. “Oh, you’re so on, babe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She surged forwards determinedly, and managed to get to a decent speed going. But Dani slipped backwards just as fast, always just too far away for Aubrey to grab her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you going backwards?” Aubrey panted. “This is all your natural Sylvan grace, isn’t it? That’s an unfair advantage and you know it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani kept moving, smooth and confident and god, she was so beautiful. In her element like this, or whenever she was off on a tangent about the trees. When she fell asleep curled up in the armchairs at the lodge, her hair tumbling over the arm, and when she smiled that shy little smile that had gotten bigger every time since they’d met. When she floated in the hot springs, belly peeking out of the water and an expression of pure bliss on her face. Now, as she paused on the ice and giggled, blonde hair tangled around her face… she was so beautiful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey pressed forward with a new determination, skating as fast as she could, and finally caught Dani around the wrist. Her girlfriend’s face lit up and she let herself be pulled in for another kiss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they broke apart, foreheads still pressed together, Aubrey whispered, “Got you.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“You got me,” said Dani. She laced her fingers through Aubrey’s once more, and they skated on, hand in hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey found she was moving easily now. She had no problem keeping pace with Dani, and only had to slow down a little bit to take the corners. While she did, Dani did a cool switchy thing with her feet. On the next turn, Aubrey tried to copy her, and she had it, definitely didn’t stumble a little, nope, but she did lean into Dani, just because. This did not go amiss on Dani, being the incredibly perceptive woman she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you doing crossovers? Babe that’s some pro-skater shit, yes!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her enthusiasm was infectious, and Aubrey went faster into the next corner to try again, which actually made it easier, her blades slicing confidently into the ice to hold her steady as she lifted her right foot over her left. Dani did the same next to her, and laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you were worried, Aubrey, you really are a natural. By the end of my first session I could just barely get around without using the wall.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey glowed under the praise. Her magic career had just been taking off when she arrived in Kepler, so no rave reviews there, and her actual magic was so chaotic and hard to control - it had been a while since she’d felt like she was good at anything. Even when it came fighting abominations, the most she could say was that she hadn’t died doing it yet. She grinned at Dani, and did crossovers round the next corner, and the next, and laughed. They were going fast now; Aubrey could feel the cool air swishing past her face, and her muscles worked to keep up the pace. The crossovers were still a little clunky, but she felt incredible, felt like she was flying, had to check for a moment that she wasn’t manifesting her powers in some new way, but no, her feet were solidly scraping the ice. She was just earthly Aubrey doing something cool.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then a lot of things happened very quickly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone cut across the ice right in front of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani faltered. Her hand tugged back at Aubrey’s, who didn’t know how to stop apart from hitting the wall. She was pulled off balance and reflexively let go of Dani’s hand, but it was too late to stop herself falling. All she could do was throw out her hands to catch herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beside her, Dani grunted as she hit the ice too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit,” she said. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey didn’t move for a moment. Dani had been right, she hadn’t been hurt when she fell, but the loss of control had freaked her out, and she was afraid that - that </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> might have happened. That she might have done something in her panic. Slowly, she peeled her gloved palms back from the ground. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see - steaming holes in the ice in the shape of her hands, an enormous puddle, some flicker of flame under the surface. But the ice was still solid, just scuffed and marked by passing blades. She breathed out and turned to Dani, frowning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she nodded. “Are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani looked relieved. “Yeah, I’m fine. Fuck, that really took me by surprise. Asshole hockey skaters.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey’s fingers drifted towards her hair but were blocked by the gloves, and she settled for smoothing it down once, then twice, and one last time. She saw Dani notice, but she didn’t say anything, and Aubrey was grateful for that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If we weren’t surrounded I’d melt the ice in front of them and only them, see how </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>like it,” Aubrey said, trying to move past the moment. She was joking. There was no way in hell she was trying that again after what happened last time, no matter how much someone deserved it. She shifted around, maneuvering her feet under her and carefully pushing herself back up to standing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani, still down on the ice, moved into a kind of crouch, and reached up. Aubrey grabbed her flailing hand and managed to help her up while staying upright herself. Dani brushed herself down, slapping shards of ice off the knees of her jeans before they melted and soaked in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now who’s picking who up?” said Aubrey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” said Dani. “I guess that makes you my knight in shining armour.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey smirked, and held out her hand, bowing dramatically - or, as much as she could while keeping her balance. “My lady,” she said. Dani took her hand with a laugh, and Aubrey swung their hands between them. “Ready to go? I’m totally about to nail a backflip.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god, that would be so sick! Jake might actually go catatonic if you do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Even more of a reason, I’ll make him pass out from my awesomeness and then maybe he’ll shut up about the skiing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey didn’t attempt a backflip that afternoon, of course, but Dani showed her how to do lemons to slow down without just crashing into the wall- Aubrey raised an eyebrow at the name and Dani insisted </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s just what they’re called, Aubrey, so you just widen your legs a bit shut up</span>
  </em>
  <span> and she blushed. They looped around the rink over and over again, until Aubrey didn’t even have to think about how to move her feet, and she figured she’d got the hang of the crossovers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was pleasantly tired and satisfied by the time they finally stepped off the ice, and her feet ached a little bit. It was a relief to pull the stiff skates off, and she pressed her soles against the ground for a moment and wiggled her toes, which felt weird after all that time locked in one position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m gonna get a slushie before we leave,” she announced as she tugged her big boots back on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A slushie?” said Dani, disbelieving. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” said Aubrey. She pointed to the four signs proclaiming GET SLUSHIES HERE. “I’m pretty sure they have them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aubrey, it’s a horrible number of minus degrees outside right now, and you’re going to drink </span>
  <em>
    <span>ice</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup! You want anything?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani shook her head. “Okay, maybe it’s just because I’m slightly more sensitive to the cold, but I will never understand eating </span>
  <em>
    <span>frozen</span>
  </em>
  <span> things in winter.” She shivered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just one of those human things you have no choice but to accept. Come on, I’ll get you a hot chocolate.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“It won’t be as good as Barclay’s.” Dani followed her up to the little cafe counter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that’s part of the whole ice skating experience. You fall over, you get super chilly, and then you drink shitty instant hot chocolate.” Aubrey shrugged, then adopted a terrible New York noir detective voice. “When you live this life, you get to know the ins and outs, the gritty little details normal folks overlook.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, now you’re the ice skating expert?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Move over Elsa, there’s a new queen of the ice!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid behind the counter looked amused at Aubrey’s proclamation, but took their order and soon they were sliding a red-and-blue slushie and a steaming hot chocolate towards them. Aubrey paid up and took a long slurp. “Mmm, the perfect bisexual drink,” she sighed, and then screwed up her face as the cold hit the roof of her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani looked mildly horrified. “See, this is why you shouldn’t drink things made of ice, no matter how good the colours are.” She had slipped off her gloves to absorb the warmth of her hot chocolate as much as possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They wandered back to the edge of the rink to watch the skaters a little longer, and Dani collapsed into one of the folding chairs around the side. Aubrey took the seat beside her and leaned into her girlfriend, who wrapped her arm around Aubrey’s shoulders. She was mostly joking about the chill, the skating and layers kept her warm enough; but she was kind of tired, and it’s not like she was ever gonna pass up an opportunity for snuggling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani nudged her shoulder, and Aubrey craned her neck up to meet her gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wanna swap drinks? I’m kind of curious now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re just saying that ‘cause your hot chocolate’s bad, aren’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani’s mouth quirked. “It’s fine! I’ve just been drinking Barclay’s for like twelve years but I swear it’s good. Are you going to stand in the way of my curiosity? What if this opens a new culinary door for me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey laughed, and handed over her drink, accepting the now less-than-hot hot chocolate in return. “But you’re not allowed to complain if you get brainfreeze.” She settled back down, curling closer into Dani’s side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out on the rink, skaters sailed past, their bright winter jackets and spangly skirts and woolly hats blurring together. She got why Dani liked this place. It was totally different from the cosy, familiar lodge. The chill atmosphere felt somehow welcoming, as if saying “you will fuck up, and I may be hard but I am not unforgiving.” There was a community here - for some people it was their life, but you could take part even as an outsider. There was something comforting- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aubrey almost spat out a mouthful of hot chocolate when something </span>
  <em>
    <span>freezing</span>
  </em>
  <span> pressed against the nape of her neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha-ha- holy fuck, Dani!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani’s grin was sharp and sweet. She pulled her hand back to cool it down again on the slushie cup. “Ohhh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span> I get it. You have given me a great and terrible power, I swear only to use it for evil.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give me that back, you can’t be truste- nope!” Aubrey swerved as Dani tried to get her icy hands on Aubrey again. “No, you’ll never take me alive!” She scrambled up out of the folding chairs to get away. “This was meant to be a cute date but you really just wanted to attack me?” She was standing now, dodged again and almost spilled the hot chocolate, so she put it down on the chair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani stood giggling for a moment. But this time when she approached, Aubrey was ready. She grabbed the attacking hand and trapped it between both of hers. Dani’s skin was so cold she could feel it through her gloves. Locking eyes with Dani, she rubbed her hand to warm it up, then lifted it to her lips to plant a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Dani blinked and her lips parted slightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem to have disarmed me,” she said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope,” said Aubrey. She leaned in to kiss Dani properly, bringing up her other hand to her shoulder. Stepping closer and deepening the kiss, she slid her hand down Dani’s arm and felt her breath catch on her lips. With Dani so thoroughly distracted, it was an easy feat to snatch the slushie cup out of her hand. Dani broke the kiss and her warm breath puffed across Aubrey’s cheeks as she laughed. “Now you’re disarmed,” said Aubrey.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I surrender,” said Dani.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” said Aubrey. “Now, I may have slightly less experience of good hot chocolate than you, but even I know that </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>-” she gestured to the cup sitting on the chair,” is a shocking excuse for it. So let’s go get Barclay to make us something proper.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that sounds perfect.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t speak much as they walked back through town. On the funicular, Dani leaned sleepily on Aubrey’s shoulder as it ground steadily back up the hill, Aubrey resting her head on hers in return. She stared out of the window at the dark sky, the lights below. There was another abomination due any day now, she had no idea how many more fights they would all make it through, and her magic grew more incomprehensible even as she studied it harder. But despite all those unknowns, Dani was a constant, and so was Mama’s warm strength, Ned’s dramatic nature and Duck’s quiet humour. And she knew Barclay would be there when they got in, and would pretend to be annoyed when they bugged him for hot chocolate, but would indulge them anyway. Her friends, Amnesty Lodge, and Kepler, and Dani - she felt the most solid, the most connected to the world, that she had felt in a long time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dani shifted her head on Aubrey’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was it a good day?” she murmured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Aubrey replied. “Yeah, it was.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span></span><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, or you can find me on tumblr @lesbiaandrisk.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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